


Life Is Rough

by firecracker189



Series: Baby Mine [14]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, big brother!Rhett, big!rhett, little!link, nsap, toddler!Link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 19:30:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20644478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecracker189/pseuds/firecracker189
Summary: Sometimes, for a Little, life is just...rough. (Or: the one where Link's new lovey gets lost and he's a mess and Bubba and Christy have to make it all better and help. Plus, he's mad at the doggies.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda connects back to BTS Vibes when Rhett has to replace Link’s first security blanket, Puppy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read the baby mine series yet, or specifically "Back To School Vibes" yet, at least read that work first. It sort of connects to this one. That's where Froggy came from.

“We have an emergency.” Link’s hair was disheveled and he had a look in his eye that Rhett didn’t like. 

“What’s that?” He swiveled his chair around and watched as Link continued storming around the office. 

“We-” Link huffed a tense sigh. “I…” He paused and licked his lips. “Bubba,  _ please _ . It’s an emergency.” 

“Okay, well...what kind of emergency? Are you hurt? Is someone else sick?” 

Link kept rifling through his desk. It was a sure-fire sign that he was very worked up if he was calling Rhett ‘Bubba’ when he wasn’t fully regressed. Link let out a frustrated whine. 

“Whoa, hey. Calm down, bud. Hey.” Rhett stood up and moved over, putting a hand on his arms. “What’s going on?” Link kept shifting on the spot until he gave up and let out a soft moan of exasperation. “Hey.” Rhett put his hands on Link’s shoulders. “Calm down. Here,” Rhett fished around in his pockets till he came up with the pacifier Christy had stashed there after last night’s epic tantrum. “Here. Just, calm down.” He stuck the binky in Link’s mouth. The bright orange pacifier with the ‘MUTE BUTTON’ sticker had become a staple in the house when tantrums happened. Link glared at him from behind the guard. “Ten seconds and then you talk.” Link stood silently and then slowly took it out. 

“Bubba..I can’t find what happened to Froggy.” 

Rhett blinked. “Oh. Well, did you bring him today?” 

“No. But I  _ can’t find him _ !” 

“Hey. Watch your tone or this goes back in. We’ll find him. Don’t worry. Let’s start by seeing if Christy can find him at home.” 

“But…” Link watched helplessly as Rhett sent the text. “But what if he’s scared or lonely?” 

“I’m sure he’s fine, bud.” He scanned her reply. “Ah. She’s looking for him. Sit down and calm down, and don’t take that binky out, you need some help.” 

Link sat on the sofa and pouted with his arms crossed. 

“Look, buddy,” he sat down and pulled Link in for a hug. “Don’t worry, okay? I bet you just forgot to put him back on the bed. He’s probably in the bathroom again, or maybe in my room.” 

Link whined around the binky and Rhett shushed him. “Hey, it’s alright. You wanna go home and look for him?” Link nodded. “Okay. You gimme that and we’ll go get in the car and go home.” 

Link handed over the paci and Rhett tucked it into his pocket, replacing it with one of the many others he kept in his desk. In order to prevent a full scale meltdown, Rhett moved him along as quickly as possible. 

“C’mon, bo.” Rhett looked in the rearview mirror. “Cheer up. I bet your froggy is fine.” 

Link made an exasperated noise. “You just got him for me and he’s really special and I don’t want to lose him and...and what if he’s lonely or something?” Link kicked his feet in exasperation, squirming against his carseat’s restraints. 

“Buddy. Hey, take a deep breath. I know we just got him and I know he’s special to you, but we’ll find him. I promise. Don’t even worry about it, okay? He’s having a great time with your other friends and he’s waiting for you right now.” 

Link didn’t look convinced. He just put his binky back in and worried at the hem of his shirt for the next few minutes until they got home. 

“Bubba?” Link sat still while Rhett got him out of his car seat. 

“What, bo?” 

“C’n you carry me, please? M’scared.” 

“Sure thing, Bumblebee.” Rhett scooped him up and let him cling while he took him inside. “Don’t worry.” He murmured. “Christy! We’re back!” 

Christy came hurrying around the corner. “Hey. Something wrong? You’re back early.” 

“Link’s worried because he isn’t sure where his Froggy went.” 

“We’ll find him.” She asserted, as Link began to cry fitfully into Rhett’s shoulder. 

“Link’s worried his little friend is gonna be scared and lonely.” He told her as they moved into the living room. 

“Oh, baby,” Christy cooed, instantly in full Mommy Mode. “Don’t be scared, honey, Christy will find your little froggy and he’ll be fine, okay?” She moved into the living room and started to climb the stairs. 

“Okay, you.” Rhett sat down on the sofa and held Link close. “Let’s just calm down, alright?” 

Link sniffed and wiped his nose on Rhett’s shoulder. 

“It’s okay, buddy. He can’t have gotten far. Don’t worry.” Rhett assured. Link kept crying for a few minutes before he finally calmed down. “That’s it. Now. Let’s take you upstairs and get you cleaned up and changed into something cozier while Christy finds your lovey, huh?” Link nodded pitifully. “Okay. Let’s go upstairs.” 

He carried Link up to his room and ignored Christy as she looked for the lost frog. “Okay, Bumblebee. Let’s get you into some jammies, okay?” He rooted through the drawer, gave up, and just ended up putting Link in one of his sweatshirts that Link had stolen from him. “There. That should...um…” Christy came into the room with a sad look on her face and something held behind her back. “That oughta keep you comfy for a while,” Rhett continued, picking Link up and holding him close. “Um. Whatcha got there, Christy?” 

She rubbed her head like she was coming on with a headache, the other one still firmly behind her back. “Well. Um. I found your frog, but you’re not going to like where I found him.” 

“Where...did you find him, exactly?” Rhett had to hold on tighter as Link squirmed around insistently. 

“Well. He was in your room. But so were the dogs. I found him with Barbara and Jade,” she pulled him out from behind her back. “They were playing tug of war with him.” The poor stuffie was not only dirty and slightly matted, but the two dogs had managed to almost rip off one of his arms, and tear the hem of the blanket. Link’s eyes went wide, instantly tearing up as he pointed at the poor mangled stuffie. 

“Bubba?” 

“Yeah I know. Don’t worry buddy, we’ll get him fixed up.” Rhett murmured, holding Link closer. 

“Down!” Link squirmed. 

Rhett put him down. “Where are you going? You don’t know anyone else besides Mark and Amy and they’re not in town.” 

Link toddled off, tears running down his cheeks. “Doggies.” 

“Hey, whoa. You be nice, okay? They can have a time out but you let me do that.” 

Link stopped halfway down the hall and glared up at him. “Hurt.” 

“I know they did. But they didn’t mean to. You have to remember to keep your door shut when you leave, or to put your toys in the box like I told you to.” 

Link collapsed ont he floor in a fit of toddler upset. Naturally, Jade and Barbara came trotting up when he fell down to their level. Link  _ howled _ even louder and batted at the dogs with clumsy hands. “No! No, bad doggies!” 

“Hey, whoa,” Christy herded the pups into Jessie’s room and shut the door. “Link, you be nice. I know you’re mad but you can’t hurt anyone, okay?” 

Link rolled over to his side and made pitiful little grabby hands at Rhett. “Bubba, is mean.” 

“I know, buddy. I know. But Christy is gonna get him cleaned up and all fixed up. Until then you can sleep with another friend.” He picked Link up and wiped his face. “Okay?” 

“No Froggy.” 

“No, he needs to get cleaned up and patched up first, doesn’t he?” 

n“Mm, hurt.” 

“Yeah, buddy. Let’s go and blow your nose and then we’ll get your blankie.”

Link was the picture of good behavior while Rhett cleaned him up, but once they made to leave the bathroom, not so much. 

“What?”

Link pointed insistently again and hummed.

“Use your words, please. What do you need?” 

Link pointed to the medicine cabinet again. 

“You want something in there?” 

Link nodded, still sucking on his fingers. 

“What do you want?” Rhett opened the cabinet and Link pointed at the box of bandaids. “Oh, buddy. You wanna help your froggy feel better with bandaids?” 

Link nodded. 

“Okay. We’ll go see if Christy can’t use these.” He took the box and carried Link downstairs, the sleeves of his stolen sweatshirt falling down over Link’s hands. “Christy. Link thought these might be useful for later.” He set the box on the kitchen table. 

“Oh, what a good boy, so nice.” She smiled softly. “I’m just gonna finish giving your frog a bath and then I’ll see if those bandaids don’t work for us, okay?” 

Link nodded softly. 

“Okay, buddy. You need to stop putting those fingers in your mouth. Let’s go find you a binky.” 

It took a while to calm Link down, but the ultimate calming weapon happened by sheer coincidence. Rhett’s phone rang just as he’d gotten Link situated on the sofa with his paci and his blankie. He’d forgotten it was in his pocket, startling slightly as he tugged it from his jeans. 

“Link?” Rhett smiled softly. “Link, guess who’s on the phone?” 

Link moved against him, suddenly curious. “Mmm?” he rubbed his blanket against his cheek. 

“You wanna say hi? It’s my mom.” 

Link sat up instantly, making grabby hands for the phone. 

“You gotta take your binky out first, silly boy. She can’t understand you if you have that in your mouth.” 

Link dragged it from his mouth and plopped it right in Rhett’s outstretched palm. “Oh, lovely. Thanks for that donation of your spit. I’ll cherish it forever.” He put the object on the table. “Hey, Mom. Yeah, we’re fine. Well, we’re not fine exactly, we had a little bit of a trying afternoon. Link wants to talk to you.” 

He put her on speakerphone and held the phone close to Link. 

“Hey, baby. Did you have a bad day?”

Link nodded softly, pouting again. “Nana.” 

“What, honey? What happened? You sound like you’ve been crying again.” 

“Froggy.” Link said petulantly. 

“Did something happen to your frog, baby? That’s no good.” 

“Froggy hurt.” Link teared up again and leaned closer to Rhett. 

“Oh no, I’m sorry baby. That’s no good, but I bet Bubba got him all fixed up, didn’t he?” 

Link didn’t seem to want to answer, instead opting for more tears. Rhett sighed softly. “We eventually found him, he was lost for a little while and then we found him and got him all fixed up. Christy’s fixing him up now.” 

“That’s good. I can’t talk long, ‘cause it sounds like somebody is overdue to take his nap today.” 

Link looked up at Rhett and hiccupped loudly. “No. Pease. Nana, no.” 

“Yes, baby. You’re so sleepy. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? You can show me your froggy on the video chat and tell me all about him.” 

They disconnected soon after that, Link fighting everything hard as Rhett tried to get him upstairs and put down for his nap. Link cried the whole time until Rhett laid down with him, patting his back firmly. “Hey. Listen you need to calm down or you’ll make yourself sick.” 

Link sniffled and burrowed closer. “Froggy.” he lisped around his binky. 

“Tomorrow, buddy. Christy will have him all fixed up tomorrow. For now Link needs to take his nap and then go eat some dinner.” 


	2. Chapter 2

“I can’t fix this. I’ve been to two different stores and I can’t find the right color thread to fix this guy,” Christy raised the forlorn but clean Froggy up from the table. 

“Y’know,” Rhett kept rubbing Barbara’s belly, tucking her a little closer under his chin. “I think I know somebody that could help with that.” Barbara licked at his chin softly and snuffled, tail wagging against his forearm. “Right, Barbie? Hmm?” He smiled softly and bent to let her down. “Go get your toy, go on.” He plopped down at the kitchen table and took a closer look at Froggy. “My mom could get him fixed up in no time, but we’d have to box him up and I’m not sure Link would like it.” 

Christy hummed. She’d spent all her peaceful ‘after the littles got in bed’ time trying to figure out what to do with the poor frog. It’d been a day and already Link’s sleep was being impacted by not having his favorite lovey with him. “It’s worth a try,” she sighed. “We’ll just have to use your mom as the secret weapon. She’d love it and be able to talk Link into letting her do it.” 

“That’s true. He does love her.” Rhett yawned. “I’m gonna go check on him one more time and then turn in.” 

“Sounds good. I have to be up early because Jessie’s daycare group are going to the zoo tomorrow. I should head on up too.” 

Rhett turned off all the lights and followed her up the stairs once they’d put the dogs in their kennels for the night. He peeked into Link’s room. 

“Why’re you up?” Rhett heaved a tired sigh. Link blinked at him over his blankets. “You have to go to sleep.” He tucked the blankets up more around Link’s shoulders. “Go to sleep, please. No wandering around tonight.” 

Link was half asleep by the time he left, and Rhett knew being so exhausted would keep him in bed. 

* * *

Jessie and Christy were up and out before Rhett had even gotten Link out of bed. “Morning, sleepy boy. Are you ready to get dressed?” 

Link gave him a grumpy look. 

“Okay, I guess that’s a no. But you can’t have any caffeine when you’re little. You know that. Now c’mon. Scoot your boot, let’s go. Move.” 

Link continued to pout as Rhett pulled the blankets off of him. “C’mon. Don’t gimme that. After you eat something and get dressed, you get to talk to Nana again.” 

Link’s eyes lit up. “Okay. Link do.” 

“Thank you.” Rhett kissed his forehead. “Now go pick your shirt while I get pants out of the drawer.” 

“Bubba, Nana?” Link shoved the shirt at Rhett. “Pease, Nana?” 

“You’re not even dressed yet, hold on. We gotta get your pj’s off first and get you in something dry.” He pulled the shirt over Link’s head. “Hold still,” Rhett laughed softly. “Stop being so wiggly, hold still for me, be good.” 

Link paused in his wiggles and let Rhett replace his pajama shirt with the soft pastel Pooh Bear shirt. “See Nana.” 

“You will. Let’s go change you first and then get these pants on and we’ll go eat our breakfast and talk to Nana.” 

Link looked him up and down seriously. “Nana.” 

Rhett sighed and led Link into the bathroom. “Yeah, I know.” 

* * *

“Done.” 

“Two more bites.” 

Link stared at him, looking slightly more Big Link than Little Link. Eventually he ever-so-slowly put the two bites of oatmeal in his mouth and clattered the spoon to the bowl. 

“Done, _ now _?” 

Rhett wiped his mouth and picked up Link’s cup to check how full it was. “Juice first and then done, c’mon there’s only one more little swallow in there anyway.” 

Link quickly finished the juice and continued to bounce in his chair. 

“Thank you. Now go put that in the sink for me.” Rhett stood up and gathered his own dishes and watched Link scamper around the kitchen eagerly. “Alright. Alright, Link. Let’s go out on the porch, it’s nice today.” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“Doggies outside. Link stay inside.” 

“Oh, I see. You’re still upset with them, aren’t you?” 

Link stomped his foot. “No outside.” 

“Be nice, Bumblebee,” Rhett kissed his hair. “Go sit on the couch. I’ll be there in a second.” 

He trailed behind Link and sat down on the sofa. “M’kay, Bumblebee. C’mere a second, let’s call her.” Rhett had already sent a text before he woke Link up, asking if she would take on the responsibility of doing a stuffie hospital for Link’s Froggy. Of course she was over the moon about it. She loved crafty type things, and she’d even gone so far as to want to add Link’s name to the silky edges of the blanket on one side. 

Link scrambled into his lap and rooted through his hoodie pocket till he’d found the binky Rhett had stashed there, popping it in his mouth. 

The phone rang a few times, then the tone came through and his mom was smiling at the two of them. 

“Hey, boys.” 

“You’re covered in flour, what’re you up to?” Rhett’s mouth twisted in a fond smile. 

“Potluck is tomorrow night at church, thought I’d make some cinnamon rolls.” 

“You’re always baking. Like you need an excuse.” 

She rolled her eyes and something clattered off the edge of the screen. “And how’s Link today, hmm? How’s my sweet little butterbean today?” 

Link started talking, speech muffled by his binky. 

“Baby, take that thing outta your mouth, Nana can’t hear your sweet voice!” She reached over and a bit of flour puffed up as she began to line her baking tin. 

Link spit the paci out and thrust it towards Rhett. “Nana, Link Froggy hurt!” 

“I heard about that baby, you told me, remember?” 

“Link sad, Nana. No seeps wifout Froggy. Bubba get Froggy for Link.” 

Rhett tugged him the slightest bit closer and nuzzled at his hair absently, letting the two of them talk a little before he chimed in. 

“I know, isn’t he so nice? He’s such a good Bubba.” 

Link tucked his blankie closer under his chin and leaned into Rhett the slightest bit more. “Lub Bubba.” 

“Hey, Momma,” Rhett cleared his throat. “I have a question for you.” 

“Sure, baby,” She continued slicing the roll of bread. “What is it?” 

“I thought maybe you could help out with Froggy. You’re really good at fixing things.” 

Link perked up. “Nana fix?” 

“Of course I will, baby. Here’s what we’ll do so Nana can fix him: we’re gonna pack him up nice and cozy in a little box, put bandaids on those boo-boos and then you send him to Nana’s house. Nana’s gonna fix him right up and Link can even watch on the phone while Nana fixes his froggy.” 

“Fix, now?” Link put his binky back in and drew his brows together in a worried way. 

“Bo, we can’t get him there immediately. We’ll wait till Monday and then get him all cozy and safe and send him off on the way to work, okay?” Rhett rubbed at his side and kissed his head. 

“Don’t worry, baby. Your Bubba can help, okay? I love you,” She slid the pan into the oven. “Can you give Nana kisses? Nana’s missed your kisses, pumpkin.” 

Link leaned forward and blew kisses, resolutely not taking out his paci.

“Oh, thank you sweetheart. Nana loves her Link kisses so much!” 

Link wiggled happily and Rhett patted his arm. “Alright, Bumblebee. Time to say bye-bye. Make sure you tell Nana thank you for helping, okay?” 

Link signed ‘thank you’ earnestly, eyes wide. 

“You’re welcome, baby. I love you and I love your Bubba so _ much _! I miss my boys when you don’t call me.” 

Rhett looked a bit guilty, hanging his head a little. “Sorry, Ma. Talk later, okay? Love you.” 

“Alright, baby. Bye.” 

Rhett hung up the video chat. “Alright. How about some play time before Link takes his first nap today?” 

* * *

As predicted, it was a very trying time for poor Link to box up his stuffed animal like that. Even with Christy being an absolute trooper and putting in a little pillow and blanket, and Link putting band-aids on the wounds it was still hard. Link cried for a good half hour when they taped the box closed. 

“Don’t cry, honey.” Christy tried to console him. “Nana is going to take good care of your frog, I promise, and we’ll have him back by next week.” 

“Too long,” Link hiccupped. Rhett picked him up and tossed his backpack over his shoulder. 

“I know. But c’mon, bud. We gotta go, we’re already late for work.” 

* * *

The interim period until the package was received was hard on everyone. Link didn’t sleep, he still didn’t want to be around the doggies, and on top of that he’d started throwing tantrums again. Instead of withdrawing and being Big because he didn’t understand, Link had taken to being Little all the time and giving Rhett a run for his money. He couldn’t put him down for want of another tantrum, or leave him alone with someone else for want of Link having another major accident and needing help. Everyone, even the crew was beginning to feel the affects of Link not getting enough sleep. Certainly Rhett was. By the time they got that pre-bed Skype call from his mom, he was more than ready to get things going again. 

“Bubba, Froggy?” Link was teary eyed once more, staring at the screen as his Froggy was ever-so-lovingly stitched back together with the closest matching thread. Lucky for him, Nana was careful to put Paw Patrol band-aids on the patient’s stitches. She smoothed the fabric down with her palms and held him up so Link could see. 

“Good as new, pumpkin, see?” 

Link let up his death grip on Rhett’s hand. “Is good? Is fix?” he looked to Rhett to confirm. 

Rhett nodded. “Yeah, bo. Look at what Nana did, didn’t she do a good job with him?” 

Link nodded. “Uh huh. Nana do good. Send home, pease.” 

“Don’t worry, honey. I’m gonna put him in his little box right after we hang up, okay? And he’ll be back and playing with you in no time.” 

Link gave an almighty yawn. 

“Okay, baby. Time for sleep. You blow Nana kisses and then go crawl in bed with Bubba.” 

Rhett went to protest that they were trying to get Link to sleep in his own bed, but the look she gave had him nodding softly. “C’mon, Linkster. You say night night to Nana and we’ll go get in bed, okay?” 

Link gave a sleepy wave. “Ni Ni, Nana.” 

“Goodnight, honey. I love you.” 

“Listen, thanks for doing this, Ma.” Rhett said honestly. 

“Oh, it’s nothing. Plus I don’t think he’s figured out about that little something extra.” She winked and watched as Link nestled closer to Rhett. “Now go get him in bed.” 

“Alright. Love you.” Rhett put the I-pad on the table and pressed a few kisses to Link’s forehead. “He’ll be back in no time at all. If I know your Nana, she’s paying for expedited shipping.” Rhett propped Link on his hip. “Cause you’re nothin’ if not spoiled, Link.” 

Link snuffled at his shoulder quietly. “No brat.” he murmured around his pacifier. 

Rhett patted his butt soothingly. “You’re right. You’re a good boy. Most of the time anyway.” 

* * *

True to form, Nana did pay for expedited shipping. Christy had the little box on the table when they came tumbling in from work, Link in a very out of sorts mood. 

“Link, come here.” Rhett’s voice echoed down the hall. 

“No.” 

“Link, come over here and let me help you take your shoes off. They’re dirty. You stepped in that mud puddle when I told you not to.” 

“No.” 

Link’s footsteps came closer before they stopped short. He let out a large whine and there was a thud she could only assume meant that he’d fallen on the ground while trying to go boneless. 

“Link, you better straighten up right now.” Rhett sounded far too tired. She wiped her hands on the dish towel and stuck her head out the door. 

“I have something special for you, Link.” 

Link paused mid-way to biting Rhett on the forearm as he worked the shoes off Link’s feet. “Surprise?” 

“Yeah. Somebody finally came home today.” 

Link wiggled to his feet and ran to the kitchen. “Froggy, froggy, froggy!” 

“You need to let me open that, i have to use scissors.” Christy said firmly. 

In a few swift moments she had the box open. THe little frog was expertly stitched together, the thread barely noticeable to be a slight shade of different green than the factory color. 

“Ohh,” Link breathed. “Chrissy, look!” 

“I see, baby. Wasn’t it nice of Nana to put your name on there for you?” 

After that, Link was easy to handle. (Though he was fully and flat out asleep by seven.) Rhett made sure to document the homecoming on Instagram, and to send his family pictures of Link with his updated version of the little frog. Sometimes, all it took was some love from Nana to save the day.

**Author's Note:**

> okay but link calling mama di 'nana' when he's in headspace is the best thing in the world, the cutest thing...the thing we all need


End file.
